How to cook the Tendon out of Ribs?

I am a competition Backyard Smoker. I use a Traeger. I use the 3-2-1 method, and the ribs come out great, except that I really want to melt those Tendons in the ribs. I will try smoking a test batch this weekend and use only the "smoke" setting on the Traeger. This is equal to 160 degrees. This may take me 10 hours or so, but I want to learn to eliminate that darn tendon. I will use a foil wrap.

Hi Lefty,
I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by "tendon" in the ribs. Can you describe it in more detail? Are you cooking pork spares or pork baby backs? Or maybe beef ribs? Are you trimming them down to St. Louis? Country ribs maybe? Does the tendon run parallel or perpendicular to the length of the bone? Are you talking maybe about the membrane that lines the bone side of the rib?
Donna

I am referring to the connective tissue in the ribs that is round and gelatinous. It runs perpendicular to the bones. I am using St Louis style Pork Spare Ribs that I purchase from Costco. The ribs are already trimmed.
I remove the membrane from the ribs prior to cooking. I use the Traeger 3-2-1 method. I keep thinking that if I allow them to cook longer/slower- that that will melt away the connective tissue.

Lefty, not sure exactly what tendon or connective tissue you are having issues with. But I can tell you that the 3-2-1 method is just a guide line. Each cooker is different, you need to adjust the actual times to what works on yours. Are your ribs coming out tender enough for you? Are you trying for fall-off-the-bone, or coming off clean from the bone just where you bite? You can try going a little longer in the wrapped portion of your cook if they are not as tender as you like, Myself, on my cooker, it is actually less (3-1.5-1). Just experiment with some different times. What temp are you cooking at?

I have purchased the St Louis cut ribs from Costco before and found that they often have some of the cartilage still present. If this is what you are referring to, then you will want to do some minimal trimming still to get rid of it. I know of no way to cook it sufficiently to break it down.

I am referring to the connective tissue in the ribs that is round and gelatinous. It runs perpendicular to the bones. I am using St Louis style Pork Spare Ribs that I purchase from Costco. The ribs are already trimmed.
I remove the membrane from the ribs prior to cooking. I use the Traeger 3-2-1 method. I keep thinking that if I allow them to cook longer/slower- that that will melt away the connective tissue.

Hi Lefty,
So the best that I can guess what you are referring to are the pieces of cartilage that run inside of the rib tips and are normally trimmed off for the St. Louis cut. My understanding is that these are called the costal cartilages, which connect the ribs to the sternum of the pig and is more extensive the further down you go towards the sacrum. As Scott rightly said above, the cartilage doesn't really cook out. It is a personal preference whether you'd like to include them in your rib or trim them out to cook separately as rib tips or maybe for a nice stew. They do taste very good! I hope this helps.
Donna